Piyo and Karubene headed towards Labona, who was hiding behind rocks.
Piyo’s bombardment caused white smoke to rise from Labona’s position. Elana braced herself to strike through the resulting hole with a follow-up attack. The wind blew and cleared the smoke, revealing a seemingly intact rock wall. Piyo’s bombardment hadn’t been powerful enough. However, upon closer inspection, a tiny gap was visible. Small stones had been blown away, literally creating an air hole.
“It’s no good, I can’t get my magic through that gap,” Elana muttered with frustration beside me. Even a sword wouldn’t reach to finish the job. Karubene’s desperate plan seemed to have ended in vain.
“Arisugawa, let’s go!”
As I slumped dejectedly, Sharin suddenly called my name, startling me. Go? Go where? Before I could ask, Sharin had already taken off running. I hurriedly followed behind.
“Huh? What? What do you want me to do?”
“Draw your sword! Don’t let the hole Pillon made get sealed!”
I pulled out my dagger as instructed. They wanted me to widen that small air hole. I didn’t know what good it would do, but I ran with it. Through the hole, I could see Labona’s face, wearing a faint, smug smile.
“Hahaha, you really don’t know when to give up. Fools should just die like the fools they are.”
That distorted smile was quickly being swallowed by the rock wall. It would be completely sealed before I could reach it. I inserted my dagger between the repaired stones. I tried moving it left and right, but it wouldn’t budge. We had wasted a precious opportunity.
“Damn it! It won’t open! Sharin, what do we do? …Sharin?”
Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t see Sharin anywhere, though she had left before me. Just then, a scream came from behind the wall. I let go of my sword and went around the back. There was Sharin, cornering Labona.
“What, you beast! All your tricks! I’ll kill youーー”
Before she could finish, Sharin lunged at the enemy and shoved her away. She kicked away the staff Labona had been holding.
“Lauren, quickly!”
Then, Lauren smoothly emerged from the forest behind us and, in an instant, bound Labona. Sharin had used me as a decoy to flank her.
“Hmph, damn it, damn it! To be beaten by such idiots! Let go of me!”
Labona, now bound, writhed on the ground like a worm. We dragged the two of them together to one spot.
“Alright, that settles it. Philiana, are you alright?”
Philiana and Pauline were safe, having been freed from the gap in the rock wall. Painful-looking scars were visible on their legs, but they weren’t broken.
“Yes, thanks to Pauline, I’m safe. She kept encouraging me. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything.”
“Hmph, it’s fine as long as you’re safe. More importantly, what should we do with these two?”
Nina crossed her arms and glared at the twins. They were blaming each other.
“But I never expected Cecilia to throw a sword. I wondered what was going on.”
“That wasn’t my plan; it was Lauren’s idea. She’s the one who saved us too. I’m sorry for calling you useless.”
Lauren, whose name had been called, clutched her hood tightly, looking embarrassed.
“E-e-eh, ah, I never expected you to ask, so I… I myself, um…”
Seeing our interaction, the twins offered an unnerving smile.
“You think this is the end? Hehehe, it’s useless. You have nowhere to run.”
“Brother, let’s hurry before the pursuers arrive.”
Following Karubene, we quickly left the scene.
